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The veteran’s plane was dramatically sunk by a U-boat in 1941 and he was later shot at and injured by a German long-range bomber but managed to hold out.

Born in Leith, Edinburgh, Captain Brown was the first Naval pilot to land a jet on an aircraft carrier and held the record for the most carrier deck landings at 2,407.

PA

He has been described as a modest man by close friends

The captain was fluent in German and when helping to liberate the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, he probed Nazis including Hermann Goring and Heinrich Himmler.

Capt Brown recalled the scene 1945 as “a field of corpses” when the Queen visited the camp in northern Germany to which she replied: “It must have been horrific really”.

The captain was reunited plane he captured in 1945 after 70 years at the National Museum of Flight and recalled the thrill of the reunion.

He said: "I was pleased to have the opportunity to see the Komet again, 70 years after I flew it.

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He also held three Guinness World Records

"I was very determined to fly this rocket aircraft back in 1945 because to me it was the most exciting thing on the horizon, a totally new experience.

"I remember watching the ground crew very carefully before take-off, wondering if they thought they were waving goodbye to me forever or whether they thought this thing was going to return.”

Friend of almost 40 years Paul Beaver described Capt Brown as a modest man despite his plethora of accolades.

He said: "Eric was the most decorated pilot of the Fleet Air Arm in which service he was universally known as 'Winkle' on account of his diminutive stature. He also held three absolute Guinness World Records, including for the number of aircraft carrier deck landings and types of aeroplane flown.”

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Nicknamed winkle, Mr Brown was born in Edinburgh

he Fleet Air Arm may have lost one of its finest and best known pilots, but British aviation has lost something even greater

Sir George Zambellas

The 97-year-old’s death has been labelled as a “huge loss” by First Sea Lord Admiral Sir George Zambellas and described him as one of he Navy’s fines.

He said: "The Fleet Air Arm may have lost one of its finest and best known pilots, but British aviation has lost something even greater - the most accomplished test pilot of his generation and perhaps of all time, and a huge advocate of military aviation."